I Want Hermione Granger!
by fancynancy1698
Summary: Ron and Hermione are made for each other. Or are they? During their sixth year at Hogwarts, Malfoy starts to fall for Hermione for reasons he can't explain, even to himself. It seems impossible that she will ever like him, too, but is anything actually impossible when love is involved? (Author's note: I changed the rating to M for cursing and some mature jokes and references.)
1. Chapter 1

I Want Hermione Granger!

Chapter One

The air was brisk on an autumn evening as a large scarlet steam engine train pulled into the station. Before it had stopped completely, doors all along the side were already being pulled open and students in full black robes started piling out. In a few seconds, the once peaceful platform was filled with the sounds of the students laughing, shouting, trying to find their friends before they missed the carriages. The hissing of the train was almost reduced to nothing in the noise.

"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" shouted a large man with a large beard and small black eyes that twinkled in the light of his lantern. The smallest students started to timidly walk towards the looming figure, whispering to each other. "Come on, then. This way," the man said once all the first years surrounded him. "I'm Hagrid, by the way.

Several feet away from the group a blonde boy with a permanent sneer stood with two other broad boys. The blonde one snorted.

"First years." His cronies laughed.

Just then, one of the first years tripped and landed flat on his face, bringing on more laughing from the cronies. The blonde boy just sneered more.

"Should be fun. Come on, then." He led his cronies up the platform to the area where the carriages waited. In the time they'd taken to watch the first years, all but one carriage had left. And in it was-

"Harry Potter," the blonde boy almost growled. Harry heard him and turned. This boy was almost the opposite of the blonde. His hair was jet black, his eyes were warm and green, and he was smiling right up until he noticed who had called him.

"Malfoy," he said disdainfully, then turned back around. As Malfoy and his cronies approached the carriage, they saw two other students sitting with Harry. Both were in their year, and one was a boy with bright red hair and freckles dotting his face. The other was a girl with bushy brown hair and an air of importance. Malfoy paused briefly when he saw the girl, but got into the carriage anyway. His cronies followed.

Harry and his two friends moved as far away from Malfoy as they could, and Malfoy snorted.

"I don't want to be in this carriage just as much as you," he said. "Weasley. Granger." When he said "Granger" his voice almost skipped slightly.

"Malfoy," Hermione said. Ron just nodded.

"Crabbe. Goyle," Harry said, his voice clipped.

And then the carriage was silent. It jolted forward, and for a while, nobody spoke. Malfoy stared straight ahead, but something about his composure said how much he wanted to turn towards the three other people in the carriage.

When the carriage rolled out of the trees, Hogwarts Castle appeared across a small lake. Lights twinkled all over the building and reflected in the water, making the whole scene seem like something out of a fairy tale.

Hermione gasped. "Oh, I never get tired of that view."

Malfoy grunted. Apparently, it was often a gesture of agreement for him, because Harry turned and looked at him strangely. Malfoy just shrugged.

After a few more minutes of rumbling along the dirt road, the carriage reached the castle and stopped behind all the ones that had arrived already.

As soon as it stopped moving, Malfoy swung over the side and walked away, not waiting for Crabbe and Goyle. His shoulders were tensed as he walked, and he didn't look back to sneer once.

"What's with him?" Ron asked as he climbed out of the carriage.

"Probably just wanted to get away from us as soon as possible. He hates us, remember?" Hermione said.

"Yeah, but still."

They made sure to take a different path through the empty carriages than Malfoy and the jogging Crabbe and Goyle.

"I can't wait to learn all the new spells," Hermione sighed. "I've tried all of them already, of course, but it'd be nice to learn how to do them properly."

"Sixth years do get to learn a load of useful spells," Ron amended. "Fred and George told me about this hex-"

"Why do you still listen to them, Ron?" Harry asked, laughing. "Remember that spell they gave you to turn Scabbers yellow in first year?"

Ron laughed. "Yeah."

"I made you show it to me," Hermione added.

"God, you were insufferable first year, Hermione!" Ron chuckled.

"You're better now, though," Harry said.

"Eh," Ron said. Harry nudged him and all three burst into laughter.

Later that night, Malfoy was sulking on his bed in his dormitory when Crabbe and Goyle walked in with arms filled with leftovers from the feast.

"Where were ya at the feast, Malfoy?" Goyle asked.

"Yeah, you missed the best food since second year!"

"Not hungry," Malfoy said. Crabbe and Goyle could tell from his voice he shouldn't be bothered, so they sat on their beds and ate the food they'd brought.

Eventually, Malfoy got up, grabbed his cloak and his wand and walked out of the room. He didn't stop to listen to Crabbe's question.

He walked around the castle, not really knowing where he was going. He just let his feet lead him. When he finally decided to look up, he realized he was in the corridor that he'd figured out led to Gryffindor house. He gasped and backpedaled as fast as he could, tripping over the edge of his cloak. He landed with a thump, but he was back up almost instantly. He turned and ran, too afraid to look over his shoulder. This time he knew where he was going.

Malfoy finally stopped running once he reached the highest room in a turret on the opposite side of the castle from Gryffindor house.

He sighed and half-fell to the floor, his face in his hands.

"What the bloody hell's wrong with you, Malfoy?" he muttered. "Get over it." He pushed himself off the floor and looked around. The room was bare except for a moth-eaten couch and a fireplace. He took out his wand and waved it.

"Accio blanket." He hoped it would come from his bed, but at this point he didn't care much.

When a thick comforter that definitely wasn't his flew through the door, he caught it and lay down on he couch, ignoring the moth holes. He waved his wand two more times. Once to close and lock the door, the second to start a fire in the fireplace.

Malfoy fell asleep trying not to think about the carriage ride and the look Hermione had given him when he climbed in across from her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The next morning, Hermione met Harry and Ron in the common room.

"First day of classes!" Hermione exclaimed as she walked up to the boys.

"Yeah, but we've got all but two with the Slytherins," Harry said, holding out their year's schedule.

"Oh, brilliant. That should be fun." Hermione took the schedule from Harry. "We've got Potions with them?"

Ron shrugged. "We'll survive."

Harry snorted. "Barely."

"It'll be hell with Malfoy there, though," Hermione pointed out.

"It's always hell in Potions. Come on, let's got get breakfast." Harry led the way out of the common room and through the castle until they reached the Great Hall.

"Come on! I want to get a sausage before they're gone!" Ron dragged Harry and Hermione to the Gryffindor table.

"Hey, give that back!"

Hermione turned and saw a first year Hufflepuff jumping, trying to get his wand back from an older Slytherin.

"Can't they just give it a rest?" Hermione huffed.

"They're all the same, Slytherins," Ron said. "I'm surprised Malfoy's not involved."

"Don't speak too soon." Harry nodded towards the Slytherin table. Malfoy had noticed the struggle and had gotten up. He looked drained, something Hermione didn't think she'd seen on Malfoy's face in a while. He walked towards the scuffle, getting his wand out form his robes.

"I'm going to help," Hermione said and started forward, but then something unexpected happened.

Malfoy looked over at her, an unreadable expression passing over his face. Then he put his hand on the other Slytherin's shoulder and said something. The other Slytherin laughed, but stopped once he realized Malfoy looked serious.

"What the hell?" Ron said, voicing Hermione's thoughts.

Suddenly, Malfoy whipped his wand up and held it under the other Slytherin's chin. The older student laughed, but still looked apprehensive. Malfoy said something in the student's ear and the color dropped from his face.

"Give. It. Back. Now," Malfoy mouthed, and the other Slytherin tossed the wand at the confused Hufflepuff. Malfoy put his wand away and looked at Hermione again. There it was. That unreadable expression.

Then Malfoy surprised her. Again. He shrugged and smiled, ever so slightly, so small she didn't think anyone else saw it. Hermione was stumped. He was being human. He was being… nice. Hermione spent breakfast completely confused, trying to figure out why Draco Malfoy, their worst enemy, would ever help somebody.

Later in Potions, Hermione looked for Malfoy, but he didn't show up for the entire class. She was so distracted, she set her cauldron on fire and singed the tips of her hair.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Ms. Granger," Snape said.

Ron nudged her. "What's with you?"

"Just tired. I'm fine," she added at his concerned expression.

At the end of last year, she thought she'd started to like Ron. Every rare smile in her direction made her light up inside, and now it seemed like he liked her, too. But here he was, paying attention to her, worrying about her, but she didn't feel all gooey inside. She just felt a sort of… sisterly affection towards him. It didn't make sense. She couldn't explain it.

Eventually, she managed to get the events of the morning out of her head and focus on her schoolwork. She couldn't help noticing that Malfoy didn't show up in any of the classes they shared with the Slytherins. When she brought it up with Harry and Ron during lunch, they shrugged it off.

"He's probably just making someone's life miserable somewhere," Ron said.

"Or maybe he's plotting!" Harry said, and the two boys burst into laughter.

"On the first day of classes?"

"Not everyone has your excitement for school, Hermione," Ron chuckled.

"Anyway, why do you care?" Harry asked.

She shrugged. "Just seems suspicious."

"He's always suspicious," Ron said. "Hey, you guys want to go fly around the Quidditch field?"

Hermione didn't, but she agreed to come just in case one of them crashed and needed medical care.

Harry ran up to the dormitories to grab his Firebolt and left Ron and Hermione arguing about the importance of the sport. Once Harry got back, they headed down to the field, where Ron grabbed a broom from the shed.

The field was completely empty. Harry took off immediately and whooped as he weaved through the goal hoops. Ron turned to Hermione.

"You sure you're okay by yourself?"

Hermione nodded. "I'll practice Professor McGonagall's spell for transfiguring animals."

Ron grinned and took off.

Hermione smiled at his back as he twisted through the air. Sometimes she wished she was good at flying, just so she could be up there with them. It always looked so fun, spiraling through the air, the wind blowing in your face. But she couldn't fly. Not in her wildest dreams. She sighed.

"Quidditch is not important to your education, Hermione," she said to herself and found a seat in the bleachers, where she stayed for two hours, practicing spells and trying not to regret not learning to fly.


	3. Chapter 3

Malfoy sat in his dormitory during lunch, staring out the window.

After helping the Hufflepuff first year and smiling at Hermione that morning, he couldn't face her, so he'd skipped classes for the rest of the day. She hadn't glared at him, though, so that was progress. He thought maybe he should talk to her, but he didn't want to lose the slight ground he'd gained. He might have done something nice, but that didn't mean she would suddenly be willing to have a civil conversation with him.

The one thing he couldn't figure out was what her confused expression meant. As soon as he'd smiled at her, she'd looked completely baffled. But there had been something else there, too. He'd seen Potter and Weasley talking to her after the incident, and she hadn't paid much attention to either of them. She'd just stared at her plate and glanced in his direction every now and then. She probably couldn't figure out why he'd do something nice, but the something else, the thing that wasn't confusion… he didn't have a single idea about what it could've been.

Suddenly, he saw three figures walking across the lawn towards the Quidditch field. At first he couldn't tell who they were, but then he saw curly brown hair.

"Hermione," he breathed.

Just saying her name made his skin tingle. He got up and walked to the dormitory door, then stopped.

"What are you doing?" he whispered. "She's Hermione Granger. A Mudblood. Don't fool yourself into thinking you actually like her." He went back to the window and saw Weasley getting a broom out of the shed next to the Quidditch field. Potter already had his Firebolt.

Malfoy looked at Hermione. She stood off to the side, carrying a pile of books. She'd probably be studying while Weasley and Potter flew.

He didn't think before running out the door.

Weasley and Potter were already in the air when Malfoy finally got to the Quidditch field. He didn't think either of them had noticed him from their vantage point, but he hid behind the bleachers anyway. He was about to start looking for Hermione when he heard someone muttering spells somewhere above him. He crept around the side of the bleachers and saw Hermione sitting a few rows up, waving her wand and muttering. She looked concentrated, as always, but as Malfoy watched, she sighed and put her wand away.

He kept watching her face as she stared up at her friends flying above her. She looked… sad, almost. Like she wanted to be up there with them.

What? Hermione didn't seem like the Quidditch type of person. She was always buried in textbooks and studying every available second of the day. He thought she only watched the games because Potter played. Maybe she wanted to fly.

And Malfoy would help her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

A week passed before Malfoy decided to talk to Hermione. He tried to convince himself it was because he didn't want to seem like he liked her, but that wasn't even close to the truth.

He was terrified.

Draco Malfoy, the son of one of Voldemort's closest followers and Dumbledore's would-be assassin was afraid to talk to a girl.

Oh, and there was that, too. If Hermione ever found out he was under orders from his father and Voldemort to kill Dumbledore, it would obliterate any chances he might've had with her. He couldn't just stop trying, though. You-Know-Who would kill him. Torture him, probably. So he had to make it look like he was trying without actually killing the Headmaster. He'd thought about going to Dumbledore himself for help, but he didn't think the old man would much appreciate the fact Malfoy had tried to kill him. So he kept it to himself and hoped that nobody found out.

Malfoy had decided that the best way to contact Hermione was to leave her a note. If he walked up to her and asked to talk to her alone, Potter and Weasley, her ever-present bodyguards, would insist on coming. And Malfoy was completely positive they wouldn't like the idea he had in mind.

So he'd written a note that apologized for previous years' misbehavior and detailed out his plan. He'd also told her not to tell Potter and Weasley.

Later in Potions when he got up to get ingredients from the cupboard, he dropped the note discreetly on her desk. He didn't look back, but he heard a quiet gasp and the rustle of paper.

Don't open it here, don't open it here, Malfoy thought, and sure enough, when he turned back around from the cupboard, Hermione had had the sense to put the note away. As he walked past her station again, he glanced down at her quickly. She looked confused, but when he inclined his head at her, she nodded imperceptibly back.

For the rest of class, Malfoy tried not to smile. She'd accepted it! She hadn't glared at him, hadn't balled up the note. She accepted it! Now she just had to read it and actually do what it asked. Malfoy tried not to get his hopes up, but it was almost impossible. Why wouldn't she take a risk and meet him after accepting a note from him?

Malfoy couldn't wait until seven that night.

After Potions, Hermione managed to detach herself from Harry and Ron ("Bathroom, you guys. I can take care of myself.") She locked herself in a stall and leaned against the door, taking out Malfoy's note. She stared at it for a while, trying to figure out why on Earth he would want to talk to her. Sure, he'd helped that Hufflepuff first year and smiled at her, but… Hold on. Maybe that's why he wanted to talk to her. Maybe the note explained that a week ago was a total fluke, she was an annoying Mudlbood, and she shouldn't expect anything like that again.

She was surprised to find that that possibility disappointed her. Something about Malfoy's newfound kindness was intriguing. Before she could think about it more, she opened the note.

Scrawled in slightly messy handwriting, the note read:

Hermione,

It's Malfoy.

First off, I would like to apologize for the way I've treated you and your friends the past five years here. I listened to my father when he said our family was above the three of you, but I shouldn't have. Part of it was probably jealousy, and embarrassment that Potter didn't agree to be my friend that first day. I hope you can forgive me.

Second, I heard that you have never flown on a broom before. I suppose that it has to do with the fact that you don't need to know how to fly to pass your O.W.L.s. Flying is an amazing thing, though, and I thought maybe I could teach you. I know you would never ask Potter or Weasley, so I thought I would offer. Of course, you can refuse if you wish.

But I promise you, there are few things better than flying, so if you decide you do want to learn, meet me on the Quidditch field at seven tonight. I'll bring a broom for you.

MALFOY

Hermione chuckled. This side, the humorous one, was not a side of Malfoy's she had seen before. That alone made her want to meet him, but something in her told her to be careful. Maybe it was a part of her that still distrusted Malfoy, despite everything he'd done.

Then she started to think. Why would Malfoy be lying about this? He could be waiting to ambush and hurt her, but he hadn't been anything close to that violent in the entire time she'd known him. He could also just be trying to trick her. He might never show up, then make fun of her the next day for falling for it. But despite the small part of her that still didn't trust him, she decided she'd meet him, just to see what he'd be like.

Hermione couldn't wait until seven.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

That evening after dinner, Hermione told Harry and Ron she had to see Professor McGonagall about some homework, then slipped away and headed for the Quidditch field.

She felt like her entire body was buzzing. It was like she'd drunk an entire bottle of butter beer and was now on a huge sugar rush. She tried to calm down by breathing deeply, but she couldn't stop herself from grinning. Whatever happened at the Quidditch field that night, it would be worth it, seeing this new Malfoy.

As she got closer to the stadium, she saw a lone figure standing near the entrance. She grinned even wider, then suddenly stopped.

"Oh, God," she whispered. "What am I doing? I don't honestly think I'll be friends with Malfoy, do I? What am I thinking?" She stood there, rooted to the spot, unable to decide whether she should keep going or go back to the castle. She had promised herself to go, and even if it was a trick, it was worth it knowing that Malfoy could make a joke. But would a friendship with the two of them even work? Her two best friends and Malfoy hated each other, and technically she and Malfoy were supposed to hate each other, too. But she was pretty sure they didn't really hate each other anymore.

After a minute of silent arguing, she decided to keep going. Might as well commit, she thought.

As she approached Malfoy, he held up a decent broom that was obviously from the school shed.

"What a beautiful broom," she said as she walked up, smiling.

"Everybody's going to be so jealous when they see you flying it," Malfoy grinned.

"It puts Harry's Firebolt to shame."

A quick shadow passed over Malfoy's face, but it was gone so fast Hermione wasn't sure it had been there. "I really am sorry I couldn't get a better one. This is the least glitchy one the school has."

Hermione shook her head. "It's fine. I shouldn't be complaining. Where's your broom?"

Malfoy turned towards the stadium. "On the field. I was setting up a minute ago."

"Setting up what?" Hermione followed him to the field. She was too busy trying to guess what Malfoy had set up she hadn't realized they'd had a full conversation already. What she also didn't realize was her racing heartbeat and Malfoy's failed attempts at concealing his enormous grin.

Hermione gasped. "Oh, my." They'd reached the stadium and were now standing at the edge of the carefully manicured grass. A soft glow, like daylight, lit up the entire stadium, and the whole place smelled like a bookshop. The air was in between warm and cool, and a refreshing breeze ruffled Hermione's hair. It felt like the perfect autumn day. Hermione gazed around the stadium, the light reflecting in her eyes. "Malfoy, this is—"

She stopped. She'd turned towards Malfoy to thank him, but the words had stopped in her throat. He was standing a few feet away from her, looking up at the sky, his hands in his pockets, and a rare look of admiration and a sort of humble pride on his face. He knew how beautiful he'd made the stadium look, and he was proud of it, but not rub-it-in-your-face proud. More of a glad-I-could-help proud. His innocence and normalcy kind of made her catch her breath. If she dared tell the truth to herself, he looked… attractive.

She cleared her throat, and he turned his head to look at her. The action and the kind expression on his face almost made her faint.

"It's beautiful, Malfoy," she managed. It sounded less nervous than she expected.

He smiled. Hermione had to try really hard not to squeak. "Thanks. I figured you'd like the bookshop smell." Then he took a few steps toward her and the moment broke. She may not be drooling, but she didn't look at him the same way for the rest of the evening. "So. Shall we fly?" Malfoy held out the broom and she took it. It was surprisingly light, and the wood was soft and tough at the same time. She decided she liked holding a broom. "Come on, come to the center. It's even more overwhelming out here."

Hermione followed Malfoy tentatively into the middle of the field, where he picked up his Nimbus Two-Thousand and One. She looked up, craning her neck to see the entire stadium.

"You're right. It is more overwhelming," she said, hearing the fright in her own voice. "Maybe I should just wait in the stands, you can go ahead and fly."

"Oh, come on. You've come so far!" Malfoy stood in front of her. "It looks terrifying, I know."

Hermione looked at him. "Is it not terrifying?"

Malfoy shook his head. "No, it's the most terrifying thing I've ever done."

It didn't make her feel any better, but she laughed anyway. "Yeah, that helps."

Malfoy chuckled with her. "But being terrified? That's part of learning."

"Really?"

Malfoy nodded. "Doesn't matter how good of a head you have for heights, you're going to be scared out of your wits the first time you fly."

"I'm just scared I'm going to be like Neville and go too quickly and fall off my broom and break my wrist," Hermione said quickly.

Malfoy gave her a sort of sympathetic but amused grin. Somehow it helped. "First off, you won't be like Neville, because, and no offense to him, but you've got a clearer head than he does. You won't panic. And if you fall—" Here Malfoy took Hermione by her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You'll be fine. You may break a bone, but that's what I'm here for. I learned some healing spells for this occasion specially. I figured you wouldn't want word getting out you broke your arm learning how to fly with Draco Malfoy."

"Malfoy…" Hermione began, but the look on his face stopped her.

"It's the way it is. I get that," he said. He looked sort of reserved, but his eyes were still twinkling, something she hadn't noticed until then. "So. You ready?"

Hermione sighed. Then gripped her broom and nodded. "If I scream, I'm sorry."

Malfoy laughed. "It's fine. I expect a scream or two." He walked over to her and showed her hot to mount the broom. Once he'd adjusted her grip and stance (Hermione tried not to blush), he deemed her ready for actual flight.

"Oh, God. I don't know if I can do this…" Hermione said, her voice quivering.

"Please, you're so ready for this!" Malfoy said, mounting his own broom in front of her.

"But what if the broom malfunctions? What if I do something wrong? What if the wind gets really strong? What if—"

"Hermione!" Malfoy half-yelled. She looked at him, sheepish. "Do you trust me?"

Oh, Jesus. She didn't expect him to ask that. She hadn't prepared for this at all. But she knew that she did trust him, for whatever reasons. So she nodded. "Yeah. I do."

Malfoy seemed just as surprised about her statement as she was. "Oh… well, alright. Then trust me when I say you'll be fine." Hermione nodded again. "Push off the ground as hard as you can. Try not to move the handle too much, I just want to try hovering. Three… two… one!"

At "one", Hermione shoved off the ground as hard as she could. She felt herself rocket upward so fast she closed her eyes. She could feel air rushing past her face. She whooped. Then suddenly the motion stopped and she could hear Malfoy laughing and cheering at the same time.

"Come on, open your eyes!" She heard him shout. "You're fine!"

Carefully, Hermione cracked open one eye, then opened the other one. She was floating. On a piece of wood. In midair. The grass of the field was at least fifty feet below them.

"OH MY GOD!" she shouted, then started breathing deeply. "Oh, God. We're so high up…" She bent sideways to look at the ground and felt her broom jerk. She shrieked and suddenly Malfoy was pressing up against her, helping her right her broom. It took a bit for her to realize he was talking to her quietly.

"Hey, hey, you're fine. You're fine. See? You're fine! The broom's holding you up, I'm right here. You won't fall. I won't let you."

"We're so high up…" She knew she was probably annoying Malfoy to no end, but at that minute she didn't care. The height scared her out of her wits. She didn't even notice that Malfoy was still pressing against her even though she'd righted her broom.

"I know. But you're not going to fall."

She looked over at him and saw the sincerity in his face. His eyes looked slightly worried, but they still twinkled. Funny how they always did that.

"Promise?"

Malfoy nodded. "Promise."

Hermione took a deep breath, then relaxed her grip on her broom so her knuckles weren't white anymore. Malfoy drifted away a little bit, but he stayed close enough that he could help if she started tipping again.

"I'm sorry for panicking," Hermione said, trying (and failing) to keep from blushing.

Malfoy chuckled. "It's fine. Like I said, everyone's terrified when they start out."

"Harry wasn't."

"Well, he's a natural. It's in his blood."

"What?" Hermione stared.

"I know, I know, I just complimented Harry Potter. Like I said, I was wrong for listening to my father," Malfoy said. Now he was the one whose cheeks were pink. "So, yeah, everyone panics. I actually expected this."

"Seriously?"

Malfoy nodded. "I don't mind. I just figured out about two minutes ago that I'm good at calming people down when they're panicking."

Hermione laughed. "You are! I honestly thought I was going to die."

"But you didn't. Because I'm so awesome."

"Mhm. Sure."

Malfoy chuckled and nudged Hermione, which made her broom lurch. She immediately screeched, squeezed her eyes closed and clutched her broom with all the strength she had. It took more quiet encouragement from Malfoy to get her to sit up and open her eyes. She wouldn't look at him, though.

"God, I'm sorry," Hermione said.

Malfoy shook his head. "Stop. Stop apologizing. I got myself into this when I offered to teach you."

Hermione still didn't look up. Malfoy was about to talk again when a cool breeze ruffled their clothes. Suddenly they realized that all the remnants of the sunset had gone away and it was fully nighttime. The air was crisp but refreshing, and the pitch black around the stadium made them feel like they were in a bubble of light.

"Wait, Malfoy."

"Hmm?"

"The stars. The stars! Turn off the lights!"

Malfoy realized what she was getting at and immediately cast a spell that made all the lights go out. Hermione gasped at the sudden darkness, but once Malfoy directed her gaze to the stars, she forgot about the fact she was fifty feet in the air.

"Oh my God," Hermione whispered.

"Wow."

They floated in silence for a few minutes, admiring the beauty of the stars, shoulders brushing. Eventually, they both realized it was after dark. There weren't supposed to be any students out after dark.

"I need to get back to my dormitory," Hermione said.

Malfoy nodded, his smile fading a little. "Yeah, me too."

"But… you know what? Screw it. I'd like another lesson."

"Really?" Malfoy looked genuinely happy, and Hermione couldn't hold in a grin. "Sure you won't hyperventilate next time?"

"Shut up," Hermione muttered and shoved him. He glided a few feet away, then returned and shoved her back.

Laughing, they floated to the ground. Neither noticed how close they stayed to each other.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Malfoy lay on his bed with the curtains pulled around him, cutting him off from the rest of the room. He didn't think he could come up with a good excuse for why he was smiling so much. He certainly couldn't tell them he'd just spent several hours teaching Hermione Granger how to fly and he couldn't remember having so much fun in his life.

He tried not to think about how much she'd smiled at him. Or that he'd touched her and she hadn't recoiled. Or that she was the one to bring up another training session. He figured that if he thought about it too much, his face might get frozen in a huge smile. So he absolutely _did not_ think about how much he wanted to see her again.

Malfoy fell asleep with Hermione's smile filling his mind.

For the next several months, Malfoy and Hermione met on the Quidditch field after dinner every other day. After the first few sessions, Hermione didn't shriek when she took off, and she could float a few feet in each direction without hyperventilating. Day by day, week by week, month by month she improved under Malfoy's skilled tutelage until she could fly almost as well as her teacher. At the end of the third month, she could even do some loop-the-loops.

Every time she made progress, Malfoy shouted up a storm, cheering and clapping loudly. She would then blush, and insist he stop or she would shove him off his broom.

There were also times when someone else would come onto the field (not any Quidditch teams, they made sure to use the field when the teams weren't there) and the two would have to hide. Every time Hermione would insist that it wasn't necessary, and every time Malfoy would say he didn't want to ruin Hermione's friendships by letting anyone know they were spending time together. Then Hermione would hug Malfoy, mostly because she couldn't stand his despondent expression, and he would hug her back, mostly because it got rid of his despondent expression.

In spending so much time together, they began to inadvertently get to know each other. When Hermione started talking about S.P.E.W., Malfoy mentioned that he had always tried to keep his father from beating Dobby, which resulted in Hermione nearly crushing Malfoy's ribs in a huge hug. It hadn't been the first time they hugged (the first time being a month into lessons when Hermione found out Malfoy liked reading nearly as much as her), but it was definitely the one that caused a greater reaction.

"You know what? If I can hug you without feeling awkward, I think it's safe to say we're friends, right?" Hermione said once she let go of Malfoy. Both were trying very hard not to smile too big.

"Oh, yeah! Definitely!" Malfoy exclaimed. "I mean, yeah, sure whatever," he muttered, crossing his arms.

Hermione laughed. "Good."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"Me too."

"Good."

Also during the time they spent together, they gradually admitted their feelings to themselves. Even though it was pretty much forbidden by her friends, Hermione couldn't deny that she liked Malfoy. She lit up every time she saw him, for crying out loud. And even though Malfoy's father would disown him, he couldn't keep telling himself it was just sympathy. He thought about her nearly all the time, after all.

So their secret friendship went on. Nobody bothered them, nobody found out.

Until three months after their first meeting. That's when everything started to go downhill.

It started when Harry figured out that Hermione had been taking his Firebolt. He went to get it from under his bed one evening to practice with Ron and found that it was gone.

"What the hell?" Harry said. "Where could it have gone?"

Ron shrugged. "I dunno. Dean, Seamus or Neville wouldn't take it. Who else has been up here?"

"Hermione came to give me some homework for Charms…"

They gasped at the same time and raced out of the common room.

"Why on earth would she be using my Firebolt?" Harry gasped as they ran out of the castle.

"No idea," Ron replied. "I thought she didn't want to learn how to fly."

When they got the field, they heard laughing.

Harry gave Ron a confused look. Ron just shrugged and motioned to the bleachers. Harry nodded and followed Ron behind them. They could hear someone talking in the air in the center of the field.

"That looks insanely difficult. I don't know if I can do it…"

"That's Hermione," Ron whispered to Harry, who nodded.

Then another voice spoke. "Hey, you've done loop-the-loops. This should be easy for you."

Harry and Ron's eyes widened.

"That's _Malfoy_!" Harry whispered. "What the hell?"

"You just have to pull up at the right moment," Malfoy's voice said.

"I think he's teaching her to fly!" Harry whispered frantically.

"Why on Earth would she let him do that?" Ron asked.

"Search me," Harry said, shrugging. "Let's go wait in the common room until she comes back. She's got a lot to explain."

Hermione entered the common room that night only to find that the only people in the room were Harry and Ron standing a few feet in front of her, accusatory expressions on their faces.

"Hi…" she said, quickly putting Harry's Firebolt behind her back.

"Why were you on the Quidditch field with Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"Er… he was… teaching me to fly…"

"Why? I thought you didn't want to learn!" Harry walked up until he was right in front of her.

"Well, I do," Hermione said, squaring her shoulders. "And it's none of your business."

"If you want to fly, that's fine," Ron said, walking until he was level with Harry.

"But just not with him! He's my worst enemy, Hermione! He's threatened to kill me before!" Harry exclaimed.

"If you want to fly, we can teach you, if you want," Ron said.

"Just stop meeting with Malfoy!" Harry said. "Please!"

"I don't want to learn from either of you. Malfoy's actually a good teacher," Hermione said, folding her arms. "And he's nice to me."

"We're nice to you!" Ron protested.

"You make fun of me all the time! Malfoy doesn't, unless it's a joke!"

"He calls you a mudblood, Hermione!" Harry nearly shouted.

"Not anymore, he doesn't!" Hermione yelled. "Look, neither of you control me. I'm going to do what I want, no matter what you say. I know you don't like Malfoy, but trust me when I say this new kind side of him is not a trick." She paused and sighed, then thrust the Firebolt into Harry's hands. "Here. I won't use this anymore, if it makes you feel better." Then she turned on her heel and walked back out of the common room, trying not to scream.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Malfoy was woken by something poking his arm. He opened his eyes and looked over to see a transparent otter floating in the air. It had been nosing him.

"Wha-? What's going on?"

The otter opened its mouth and spoke in Hermione's voice- and she sounded scared.

"Malfoy! You've got to come meet me! Harry and Ron found out about our lessons! Kitchens, ten minutes! And hurry!" With that, the otter vanished into a wisp of fog that dissipated in seconds.

Immediately, Malfoy was awake, throwing on a robe over his pajamas, and racing out of his dormitory.

It didn't take long to find the kitchens. Hermione was sitting against a wall inside, her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Hey," Malfoy said tentatively. Hermione looked up.

"Malfoy! You came!" she jumped up and enveloped him in a huge hug. He chuckled and held her until she stepped away. "I didn't think you would."

"Of course I came," he said.

"You didn't have to." She sat back down and patted the ground next to her. Malfoy slid down the wall.

"You sounded scared in your message. I wasn't gonna leave you by yourself."

Hermione shrugged. "I was just freaking out because they found out. It's not that big of a deal."

"Yeah, it is! Wait until this gets out! No one's gonna want to talk to you once they find this out!"

"Malfoy-"

"I can stop teaching you, if you want."

"Malfoy-"

"I should stop. You should stop talking to me."

"Malfoy!"

He looked down at her, startled.

"What?"

"I'm not gonna stop getting lessons from you." Malfoy started talking, but Hermione cut him off. "I don't care what they think. You've become a better person, and you're my friend, and if they don't like it, screw them."

Malfoy didn't look convinced. "You sure?"

Hermione nodded. "Completely."

Malfoy smiled and nudged her. She nudged him back.

"Oh, what am I going to do about those idiots?" she sighed.

"They won't tell anyone. They're good friends, they wouldn't do that unless you said it was okay," Malfoy said, looking down.

"Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Your voice gets all weird whenever you talk about Harry and Ron."

"Erm… you're just really good friends with them."

"So?"

"So… I dunno…"

"Are you jealous of them?"

"What? No…"

"You shouldn't be."

"I never said I was."

"Malfoy. I can tell."

"Hmm."

"Just because I'm friends with them doesn't mean I'll ignore you. Or stop being friends with you."

"You've known them longer."

"Not true."

"You know what I mean."

Hermione sighed. "Nothing is gonna stop me from learning how to fly with you, okay?"

"What if I kill Harry?"

Hermione laughed. "Yeah, I suppose I'd stop then."

Malfoy smiled. "Alright. But I'm not going to suddenly be all amicable with them. They still hate me."

"Oh, I know. I'll just have to deal with the fact that two of my best friends and my other best friend hate each other," Hermione said, grinning.

"Best friend?"

Hermione shoved him with her shoulder. "Shut up."

They sat in silence for a minute. Hermione was trying to figure out how to keep Harry and Ron from killing Malfoy, and Malfoy was trying to figure what to do if they tried to kill him.

"I should probably get back to bed," Hermione finally said, standing. "Sorry for waking you up."

"No problem. Happy to help," Malfoy said, getting up and stretching. "Anything you need, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

Hermione nodded. She already looked sleepy.

"C'mere." Malfoy held out his arms, and Hermione walked into them, resting her head on his chest. His chin just fit on top of her head.

"I gotta go to bed…" Hermione muttered, but she didn't move for a little longer. When she did, she went onto her toes and kissed Malfoy on the cheek. "You're a good friend." Then she walked out of the kitchen.

Malfoy looked after her, a shocked expression on his face. His hand reached up and touched the spot where she'd kissed him.

Outside the kitchen door, Hermione was walking away, grinning from ear to ear and whispering, "Why did I do that? I'm such an idiot."

Neither of them cared.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The next morning, Hermione was fully expecting Harry and Ron to confront her again, but her outburst from the night before had seemed to shut them up. They were nicer to her the entire day, and never brought up Malfoy, not once. Of course, they could just be being careful. They might not want to upset her again by telling her not to hang out with Malfoy again. She decided to take it as a sign that they were listening to her.

Every time she saw Malfoy, he touched the spot on his cheek she'd kissed and raised an eyebrow. She blushed and mouthed "Stop it", and then he grinned and turned away. Every time this happened, she regretted that choice more and more.

The next two days went pretty quickly. Both of them just wanted to get to their next training session.

When they met at the field at the normal time, Malfoy was grinning from ear to ear.

"So… you gonna kiss me again?"

Hermione just looked at him, then sighed. "Shut up."

"No! I'm curious," Malfoy laughed.

Hermione shoved past him, mounted her broom, and took off. For two hours, Malfoy perfected her diving technique, continually making references to the kiss. Every time he did so, she shot at him as fast as she could, which usually resulted in him cursing loudly and lurching out of the way. Hermione would then laugh, and Malfoy would eventually join in.

When they were walking back to the castle after the lesson, Malfoy stepped in front of Hermione. He had a serious look on his face for once, and the twinkle in his eyes was somehow brighter.

"What's up?" Hermione asked. "You look like you have something you want to tell me."

"Yeah, I do… erm…" Malfoy looked down at his feet. "I… er…"

"Cat got your tongue?" Hermione teased. Malfoy glanced up. "Just say it, man, I'm starting to get worried."

"Erm… well… Hermione…" Malfoy took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. "I like you. A lot."

Hermione froze. "What? You do?"

"Yeah. I can't explain it, really. I just do." He looked nervous and happy at the same time, like he was relieved to get it off his chest.

"I- I don't…"

"It's fine if you don't like me back… I'll understand."

"No, that's not it."

"So you do like me?" The hopeful look on his face nearly killed her.

"Yeah, of course! It's just…"

"You don't want to go out with me." His face sunk. That killed her.

"No, that's not it either…"

"You're embarrassed." Now his face had hardened into a sort of angry expression. "You don't want to admit you like me."

"Of course not!"

"No, that's exactly what it is! You said you didn't care what people said about us being friends, but once its romantic, you can't bear the thought of anyone knowing!"

"Malfoy-"

"No, I get it."

"Malfoy, please believe me…"

"You lied! You do care! Otherwise you'd go out with me!" Malfoy was yelling now, but his eyes were red and his voice cracked.

"Malfoy, please."

"You know what? I shouldn't like you anyway. Because you know what you are?"

Hermione hung her head and sighed. "A jerk, I know, I'm sorry."

"A mudblood. A filthy mudblood."

Hermione gasped at looked up at him. "You don't mean that."

But Malfoy nodded. "I do. I really do." His voice broke.

Hermione's chin started to tremble. "Maybe I was wrong then. You didn't change." She turned and ran. Malfoy didn't bother calling to her. He knew she wouldn't listen.

"Shit, Malfoy. What did you just do?"

He slept in the tower with the moth-eaten couch that night.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Hermione woke up the next morning with a heavy heart. She should've known. She warned herself, hadn't she?

She got dressed and left before any of her roommates woke up. For a while, she just wandered the hallways, trying not to cry. She hadn't cried since Malfoy called her… the name, even that night, and she didn't intend to, ever.

Why had she believed him when he said he was sorry for everything? Why did she accept that he'd changed? Obviously he hadn't, because if he had he wouldn't have called her that. She knew she shouldn't have been so harsh about rejecting him, but that didn't warrant calling her the nastiest name Malfoy could think of. Couldn't he respect what she wanted? It's not like she meant to hurt him.

She sighed. It was all too confusing. The only thing she knew was that she wouldn't be taking flying lessons from Malfoy anymore. She didn't care that she'd rejected him for reasons even she couldn't understand. She just knew she didn't want to be around anyone who would call her something like that.

Malfoy didn't sleep for the entire night. There were times where he dozed off, but for the most part, he lay on his back on the couch, staring at the ceiling and trying to forget how much he'd ruined his life.

He'd just isolated the best thing to happen to him since the Slytherin Quidditch team, and he doubted she would be back anytime soon. Probably ever. He didn't know what had happened to him. He had fully prepared for the eventuality that she rejected him, and was ready to nod and walk away without saying anything. But something about the look on her face and the constricting feeling in his chest made him angry. He couldn't control anything that had come out of his mouth, and that had resulted in him calling the girl of his dreams the very name he'd promised never to speak again.

The look on her face after he'd said it… the memory nearly choked him, so he tried to concentrate on other things. Like how the hell he was going to look at her now without dying inside.

For the next two months, Malfoy and Hermione looked at each other almost more often than before the incident. Every time Hermione would glance at him, her eyes would harden and she'd turn her head immediately. It killed him every time. He, on the other hand, couldn't stop looking at her. He spent nearly every class they had together staring at the back of her head. Despite the fact that it reminded him that she hated him again, he couldn't stop. It was a tragedy he couldn't look away from.

It seemed like to him that Hermione was absolutely done with him and didn't miss their flying time at all.

He was wrong.

Hermione didn't show it, of course, but she was nearly as torn up about it as Malfoy. She liked him, and he'd called her a filthy mudblood. It broke her heart, but somehow she still missed him. She hadn't felt as happy as she had with him in a long time. But she knew she couldn't go back, no matter how much she wanted to.

Harry and Ron had asked her several times why she was so down all the time, but she'd shrugged it off so many times they'd given up trying to figure it out. She could tell they were worried, though, which made her a little better. Only a little, though.

Hermione assumed that she and Malfoy wouldn't speak for the rest of the year, that nothing would change the way she felt now.

She was wrong.

On a chilly February morning two and a half months after the incident, things changed. Hermione was sitting in the bleachers after dinner, trying to find the bookshop smell from her first lesson with Malfoy. She was looking around the stadium when she saw Malfoy entering. He didn't notice her at first, just hopped on his broom and started flying. Eventually, though, he did notice her sitting alone in the bleachers and flew over.

"I'm not going to talk to you," Hermione said immediately.

Malfoy ignored her and got off his broom, setting it on the bleachers a few feet away from her.

"You shouldn't ignore me."

"I don't think you're allowed to criticize me for anything."

"I thought you weren't talking to me?"

Something about his tone of voice and the look in his eyes- teasing, apologetic, humorous, terribly guilty- reminded her of all the times he made her laugh and suddenly she was crying. She'd broken her promise.

"Why would you say that?" she asked, turning away, not wanting to let Malfoy see her cry.

He didn't say anything, just sat down, leaving a few feet between them. Hermione just cried, letting everything from the past two months out. When she finally looked over at Malfoy, she noticed that his eyes were red and a few tears had leaked onto his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking.

"It's not just that you called me a mudblood," Hermione said.

Malfoy nodded, wiping his tears away. "I know. I betrayed your trust. I reverted back to my old self."

Hermione sniffled. "I just don't-"  
"I know."

They sat in silence until Hermione couldn't stand Malfoy's gaze burning into the side of her head anymore.

"I have to get back. Homework."

Malfoy just nodded. He didn't try to stop her, didn't beg, didn't make excuses. She should've appreciated it, but it just made it harder for her to leave.

She was several rows down the bleachers, almost to the ground, when Ron burst through the entrance to the stadium.

"Hermione!" he yelled once he saw her. "Hermione!" His eyes were wide and scared.

Hermione ran down to meet him. "What's wrong?"

"Harry's gone! He disappeared after dinner! I looked in our dormitory, the library, the Great Hall, everywhere! I couldn't find him!" Ron said, nearly hyperventilating.

"He's probably fine! He might have just snuck somewhere secret."

"That's not all, though," Ron said quietly, his eyes still huge. "I went to tell Dumbledore about it, but he was gone! There was a note on his desk." Ron held out a piece of paper covered in Dumbledore's scrawled handwriting.

Hermione took it tentatively. Before she opened it, she looked behind her and saw Malfoy standing a few feet away, looking worried. She cleared her throat and read.

"Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger, I would like to extend my most sincere apology if you worried where Harry had gone. I'm afraid I've taken him on a rather dangerous field trip to destroy something called a Horcrux. I will do my best to protect him, but Horcruxes are dangerous. Harry volunteered to do this, which I recommend you see as brave, rather than stupid or selfish. While we are doing an important job, I need you two to do something equally crucial. A group of Death Eaters will be infiltrating Hogwarts in several hours, and I need you to stop them from harming anyone. Do whatever you can, save killing anyone. You can have others help you, as long as they're willing to risk their lives. Good luck. Don't worry about Harry. Professor Dumbledore."

Hermione's face drained of all color, and she heard Malfoy curse behind her.

"We have to fight Death Eaters."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Why are you still here?" Hermione asked, whipping around. The look on her face nearly sent Malfoy running, but he had to stay.

"You have to fend off a group of Death Eaters. I want to help. Plus, Dumbledore said you should get other students together," Malfoy said.

"What if we don't need your help?" Hermione snapped. Ron gave her a questioning look, but she ignored him.

Malfoy sighed. He hadn't wanted to tell her this, but he knew there wasn't another option.

"You do. I… I know what their plan is."

"Whose plan?" Ron asked. He looked more suspicious the more Malfoy talked, but Hermione's faces had sunk. She'd figured out what was coming. Malfoy tried to ignore her expression.

"The Death Eaters… I… I was part of it. I was supposed to, ah, kill Dumbledore, then let the Death Eaters into the castle." At this point, Malfoy had given up trying to avoid looking at Hermione and just stared into her eyes. She didn't look surprised. Just depressed that she'd guessed right. Despite this, Malfoy kept talking. "Eventually, I came to my senses and stopped trying to kill Dumbledore. Somehow, I managed to figure out that I needed to stop acting like I was better and help the good guys. Only I didn't know how to do that until now."

Hermione shook her head, while Ron stared ahead, dumbfounded.

"So… you tried to kill Dumbledore?" he asked.

Malfoy stopped.

"When did you realize you shouldn't do that?"

"We shouldn't even be talking to him, let alone asking him questions about his 'epiphany', if it's real!" Hermione exclaimed.

"He can help, Hermione! And I doubt it's a trap. He looks like he means it," Ron said. "Get whatever you have against him out of the way! Now, let him answer the question."

Malfoy didn't hesitate before answering. He looked at Hermione again. "When I started doing flying lessons with you."

Hermione made a weird choking and crying sound in the back of her throat and finally hung her head. Ron looked a little disgruntled, like he didn't understand what was going on and didn't like it.

"Can I help, please?" Malfoy asked, his voice breaking. "I need to do something."

Ron nudged Hermione, who straightened.

"Yes. You can. Get any Slytherins who will help to meet in the Great Hall. And don't bring any of the bad ones."

Malfoy nodded. "What will you do?"

"We're going to get some Gryffindors and try to get into the other Houses," Ron said. "Make sure they're fifth years and older. We don't want any young ones to suffer."

"Okay. Great Hall in twenty minutes. We'll figure out how to get into Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw then, and I'll explain how to stop the Death Eaters," Malfoy said, then turned and walked out of the stadium.

Hermione looked after him with a tortured expression on her face. Ron stared at her. He didn't like the way she was looking at him.

Twenty minutes later, Malfoy walked into the Great Hall, followed by two sixth year Slytherin girls who seemed to have gotten the nicer end of their family tradition. Luckily, he'd managed to keep his mission quiet to keep too many rumors from flying around.

Hermione and Ron were sitting on the floor in front of the four House tables. They were surrounded by a large group of Gryffindors, including all of the Weasleys, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and a few other ones Malfoy didn't recognize.

As he got closer, he started to see Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, too. But that was impossible. They didn't know how to get into either of those Houses.

Surprisingly, when the group of students saw him, they didn't glare at him and yell at him to go away. Most nodded respectfully. Some even smiled. This confused him more than anything.

"Why isn't everyone jeering at me? And how are there Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws here?" Malfoy asked as sson as he got to Hermione and Ron.

"Sit. I'll explain." Hermione patted a patch of ground next to her, and unreadable expression on her face, so of course Malfoy immediately sat down. The two Slytherin girls found places among the crowd.

"What's going on?"

"We found a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw that were out for a midnight walk. They were really eager to get their Houses to help, so they retrieved volunteers while we went to Gryffindor." Hermione's eyes were bright and she was smiling.

"And the not-glaring thing?"

Hermione looked less excited. "Oh, we explained that you're betraying the Death Eaters. Giving away their plan. For some reason, they only care about that. They don't seem to remember what you were like just a few hours ago."

Malfoy sighed and turned away from her. There wasn't any use in arguing, no matter how much it tortured him to see her hate him.

Finally, Hermione and Ron stood up. The quiet chatter in the group silenced.

"Hey, you guys. Thanks for volunteering," Hermione said loudly. "So, we have to stop a group of Death Eaters tonight." Utter silence. "This is going to need bravery, so if you don't feel like you can do it, you can head back to your dormitories. There will be no hard feelings." No one moved. Hermione smiled. "Draco Malfoy was once in on the Death Eaters plan. He was supposed to kill our Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, but, just a few hours ago, he came to us, saying he knew he was wrong and wanted to help us protect the castle against the Death Eaters. He's here to tell us their plan and how to get around it. Malfoy?"

Malfoy stood up, but before he could speak, Hermione leaned over.

"This castle needs protecting and we can't be distracted by each other while we're in the middle of a battle. Let's agree to be civilized until after, alright?"

"Agreed," Malfoy whispered.

"Good. Impress me, Slytherin."

Malfoy raised his voice. "In a few hours, we are going to be facing some of the most dangerous people in the world. They know more spells than five of us do combined. They're servants of You-Know-Who, so they're ruthless and not afraid to kill." Malfoy paused, scanning every face. There wasn't a bit of hesitation anywhere. "This is going to be a bumpy ride."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Malfoy paused, watching the faces. Nobody looked terrified, just cautious and slightly wary. He knew they'd all fight to the death. And for some reason, they'd fight behind him. He liked that feeling.

"The Death Eaters will be entering by a secret entrance on the fourth floor corridor on the left side. It's behind a purple tapestry next to a Godric Gryffindor statue. I found it near the beginning of the year," Malfoy said. He glanced quickly at Hermione, who nodded at him. He turned back to the crowd. "Every Death Eater is coming, so that's a little over forty. There's twenty-five of us." There was a slight ripple of worry in the crowd, but Malfoy held out a hand. "Yes, we're outnumbered. Yes, they're all masters of the Dark Arts. But what's one thing we have that they don't?" Nobody spoke. Malfoy's eyes were alight with an excited fire. He'd found something he cared about. "We're protecting our home! That's what! This is our home! No matter what separates us as houses, Hogwarts is where we've all grown up and made the best friendships we'll ever have. We will all die to protect this castle. All they're doing is attacking. They don't have any connection to this place. They don't know what it means to us. They don't know that we have hundreds of motivations sleeping in this castle that we need to protect." Malfoy stopped. "They don't have what we have. So we can drive them away, if we remember what this place means to us. Are you ready?"

The group of students didn't shout or cheer. Some of them were about to either die or be severely injured. This wasn't a time for celebration. So they just nodded gravely and stood, pulling out their wands. Hermione and Ron stood with them on either side of Malfoy. Ron clapped Malfoy's shoulder and Hermione smiled at him. He was too in the moment to appreciate the fact that two people who had hated him several hours ago were now his friends, his allies.

"So what are we going to do, exactly?" Fred Weasley spoke up.

"Funny that you asked," Malfoy replied. "You and George are going to put as many distractions as you can in front of the entrance. Fireworks, stink bombs, anything that will incapacitate them. Once you're done with that, take a small group of students and hide around the corner to the middle of the fourth floor corridor. A group of about seven Death Eaters will go that way."

Fred and George grinned excitedly, then picked out a group of students from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and left the Great Hall.

"We'll need a group of students on the right side too," Malfoy. "Longbottom, why don't you lead that?"

Neville looked surprised. "Me?"

Malfoy nodded. "Yes. You."

Neville straightened. "Alright." As he picked out the other students, he seemed to grow more confident. He left the Hall with his group behind him, looking ready to prove himself.

Malfoy dispersed the rest of the volunteers into groups that scattered around the castle, ready for the Death Eaters that would spread around. Eventually, only Malfoy, Ron and Hermione were left in the Great Hall.

"Malfoy, that was brilliant!" Ron said, clapping him on the back. "You're a great leader!"

Malfoy nodded. "Thanks. I just want to redeem myself," he said, turning to Hermione, who looked away.

"You did do a good job," she said, sitting back down on the floor. "What are we going to do?"

"I thought we could-"

"No, about this situation. Death Eaters are going to invade the school! People are going to die!" Her eyes were wide and she was shaking a little. "What are we going to do?"

Ron went over to her, but Malfoy sat next to her first. Ron looked a little disgruntled, but let him sit down. Someone had to comfort her.

"Fight them. Like we're all ready to do," Malfoy said. Hermione started to say something else, but he stopped her. "Every single one of those volunteers knew there was a risk of death. And they accepted that. Every single one of them."

Hermione sighed and hung her head. "People are going to die."

Malfoy nodded, and tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah. They are. And we have to accept that, just like they all have."

Hermione didn't move for a moment. Eventually, she looked up and nodded. "What do we do?"

Malfoy gave her a small smile and straightened. "We are going to get the Order of the Phoenix."

Hermione stared. "What?"

"Sure, we've got all the inspirational speeches and A-plus effort, but we need some grown-up wizards and witches to help us out. So we call the Order."

"How did you even know about them?" Ron asked. "And that's a little rough, don't you think? You just sent some of those kids to their deaths."

"It's not as much of a secret as you'd think," Malfoy replied. "And don't get me wrong, those volunteers are very important. It just wouldn't hurt to have several fully-trained wizards and witches to help us out."

Hermione shrugged. "Yeah, makes sense. We just need to find a way to contact them."

Malfoy and Ron's faces lit up at the same time. "Floo powder."


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I'd just like to apologize for the huge delay between chapters recently. I just started school again, so new chapters will be less frequent. Thanks, guys!**

Chapter Twelve

"You remember when we tried to use this fireplace last year?" Ron whispered to Hermione.

She nodded, laughing. "Then this freak caught us and turned us in."

"Hey! I was young!" Malfoy protested, blushing.

"It was last year!" Hermione laughed again.

"Just be grateful I'm not turning you in now." Malfoy grinned.

They were in Snape's office, sitting in front of the very fireplace Ron, Hermione, and Harry were caught using last year. It hadn't taken Hermione long to unlock the door, even though the go-to Alohamora hadn't worked.

"You should be grateful we're letting you help!" Ron said. He was smiling, but there was something clipped about the words that said he wasn't entirely joking.

"Hey, shut up, both of you," Hermione interjected, then reached into a container on the wall, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and threw it into the fireplace. "Number 12, Grimmauld Place!" she said clearly.

The fire crackled for a moment, then voices drifted through the flames.

"You call this dinner? I thought you were a better cook!"

"Don't eat then. Starve, for all I care."

"Hold on, look at the fireplace!"

A few seconds passed in which there was a lot of overlapping voices and shuffling feet until finally, a head formed in the flames.

"Hello?"

"Mum, hi!" Ron exclaimed.

"Ronnie! What are you doing in the fireplace?"

"We need your help, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said quickly. "Well, we need the Order's help."

"Why on earth- Oh, Draco, hello," Mrs. Weasley said, her eyes glowing with surprise in the fire.

"He's helping us, Mum. Don't worry, he's not gonna kill or anything," Ron explained, and Malfoy glared at him.

"Yeah. I'm trying to be a better person," Malfoy said.

Mrs. Weasley's fire head nodded, seemingly accepting of the idea, like it wasn't new to her. "Good. So why do you need the Order's help, dear?"

"Erm… well, Death Eaters are going to attack the school." As soon as the words were out of Malfoy's mouth a whole chorus of surprised exclamations erupted through the fire. Mrs. Weasley's head disappeared for a moment.

"Shut it, all of you! I'm trying to listen!" Her head reappeared, a slightly miffed expression on her face. "Go on, sorry, dear."

"And Harry's out with Dumbledore doing something important, so he left us to defend the castle against the Death Eaters," Malfoy said. "We got some students to volunteer to help, too."

"What about your professors? They could help, couldn't they?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Hermione shrugged. "We looked for them on our way to Snape's office. They're all gone."

"Gone?" Mrs. Weasley completely ignored the "Snape's office" part.

Ron nodded. "Dunno why. Hope nothing bad happened to them."

"Nothing else to do then. We'll be there soon, pumpkin." Mrs. Weasley's head disappeared before any of them could say anything, and the fire crackled out, as if the Floo network communication was the only thing keeping it alive.

"Well, she didn't go off on you, so that's a good thing," Ron chuckled.

Malfoy shrugged. "I guess. Just hope they get here in time."

"Even if they don't, we can still hold our own till they get here," Hermione said confidently, then stood up. "We should go make sure everyone's ready, then get in position."

"Good point," Malfoy said, stretching as he stood. "Your mum's not that bad, Weasley."

Ron looked at him strangely, then smiled. "Thanks."

"Boys, forget the bromance, we need to make sure everyone's in place," Hermione said, walking to the door.

"We're not…" Malfoy protested.

"Bromance?" Ron stammered.

Hermione looked at the boys. They were both bright red and looked so disgruntled it was hard not to laugh. "Come on, before you start kissing."

Ron groaned and Malfoy stomped after Hermione, grumbling to himself.

It took half an hour to find the groups Malfoy had sent out and check on them. Every single person looked ready to fight, but a cold fear settled on most of them when they heard the teachers were nowhere to be found.

"How are we going to hold them off?"

"We're all dead without them!"

"I can't believe I agreed to this!"

Even with the news that the Order was coming, the possibility that their professors had abandoned them still lowered their spirits considerably. After a small speech to each group, Malfoy moved on, knowing there wasn't anything else for him to do.

The last group they came to was the one Fred and George were leading. When they got there, the twins had people setting up traps from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"How's it going?" Malfoy asked as they walked up.

"Great! Those Death Eaters aren't gonna know what hit them!" Fred said happily, then turned to a fifth-year Gryffindor. "Not like that, make sure the nozzle is pointed up!"

"What about you, did you get in contact with the Order?" George asked.

Ron nodded. "Yeah, we talked to Mum through the Floo network. She's gonna gather the Order and get here as soon as possible."

Fred sighed. "Thank God. We'll need their help if the professors aren't here."

"How'd you know about that?" Hermione asked.

George shrugged. "Word spreads. Anyway, doesn't matter, really. We've got a good primary defense here. And no matter how dispirited everyone else is, they're going to fight as hard as they can."

"Hope so." Malfoy folded his arms and sighed. "I wish Harry were here. He would know what to do."

"Please, you're doing a fantastic job, Malfoy!" Hermione protested. "You've known exactly what to do since this whole thing started!"

Malfoy shrugged. "Yeah, but… what if I'm wrong? What if more people get hurt or killed than we expect?"

"That won't happen." Hermione was standing in front of him.

"But-"

"Listen to me." Hermione grabbed his shoulders and looked intently into his eyes. "You have done everything you can. If we don't win, it won't be your fault. Okay?"

Malfoy sighed and looked down. Hermione grabbed his chin and pulled his face back up. "Okay?"

Malfoy finally nodded. "Okay."

"I know you feel like Harry's the hero a lot, but now, you're the most important person," Ron added.

Malfoy looked at him. "Thank you."

Ron nodded. "Sure. We're all a team now, aren't we?"

"Oh, so sweet!" George crooned.

"I think I might cry," Fred said, his chin wobbling.

"Shut up, you two." Ron punched George's arm.

"Oi!" the twin protested. "What happened to same team?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a bang came from the direction of the Gryffindor statue.

"Shit!" Malfoy exclaimed. "They're coming!"

"We're not done yet!" Fred said.

"Doesn't matter." Malfoy shook his head. "Get everyone around the corner, now!"

"Come on!" Ron said, herding a few fifth years towards the end of the hallway.

"No, wait!" Hermione called, and Ron stopped. Another bang came from behind the curtain next to the statue. "We stay here. Face them head on."

"It's better if we have the element of surprise, though," Malfoy said.

"That's hiding! We don't hide!" Hermione half-shouted. "Face them here, without cowering!"

BANG.  
"God, Hermione, that's so cliché." George was only half-laughing.

"She's got a point," Malfoy amended. "Either way, we'll have surprised on our side."

BANG.

Ron sighed. "Alright. Let's be heroes, then." He and the fifth years walked back to the main group and got out their wands.

BANG.

Malfoy nodded at Ron and the twins, who grimaced back. His gaze lingered on Hermione, and he wished he could make amends before the danger to come.

BANG.

He would just have to tell her later, if they were both alive.

BANG.

Don't think like that, he told himself.

BANG.

"Get ready for hell."

The door behind the curtain fell with a resounding crash.


End file.
